Night One Hundred And Twenty Four
Age 1991
The Red Nation...
Rafflesia City...
Hero gulped as he squished the voice of Row back down in his mind and stared down at the body of the girl. Kitsune's screams rang out as the beasts sword was once again rammed down in his leg. The girl was breathing heavily watching the fight tears streaming down her eyes. "H... Hey..." Hero said quietly... "Lis... Listen... I need you to let go of the connection... Please... Your connected to him... You need to let go... You're making him stronger." He brought his hand up running it through her hair.
"D... Dad..."
"He's your dad... Yes but-"
"It's dark..." She whispered. "I can't hear... It's cold... Dad... Mom... Are you there..."
Hero felt his heart shatter as he gripped the girls hand in his own. Slowly he felt it grow colder as the pulse inside of it became fainter and fainter. She was dying.
'Good...' The voice of Row was back. 'When she's dead the monster will-'
"Fuck. This."
Row went silent.
'What?'
Row began to see it. The memories of the doll. The news of Serenity's death. Than it went further back. Okami Otoko. The lab. All the people that were left behind. Vil, the female Hero, Piero, Ken, Kitsune, Light, all of them... And... And a man with snow white hair and ruby red eyes... Orion... God... Row saw them all.
"Fuck this." Hero said again clenching his fists so hard his nails digged into his palms. His teeth began to clench and he began to use it. The scar of his heart igniting with a green light.
'What the hell.'
Hero's body began to lit up as he tapped into the power of his Crest...
'What the hell!'
"I'm going to save her!"
'What the actual hell is going on!'
"Not again." Hero hissed. "Not again. How many people are just going to die in front of me. I refuse to let it happen. This fucking Crest can make things right? Than I'll remake her destroyed organs. I'll remake her bruised body. I'll remake her God damn will to live if I have to! I'm not going to sit by and let her die!"
'You're using the Dreamer Crest! But how? Only I should be able to access it! I'm Row Law! That's my power! I made you! If you do this you know you'll speed up my waking process right? Every time you use my power I wake up quicker. And this...' Row stood in the void watching his counterpart, his other half use that power and with every second he grew closer. How long would it be now? Less than three years? 'You idiot. You're speeding me up? Why would you do something like this?'
"I don't care." Hero yelled the green glow getting brighter as he placed his hands over the girls wounds. "I really don't care. Try and wake up. Try and take 'my' body over. Try and destroy my life. I'm a Hero of Justice! A Superhero! I'm going to save everyone in front of me!" Hero screamed a pillar of green energy blasting out of him and washing over the entire street.
In the Void Row watched with wide eyes.
'I had a dream once... I wanted to save everyone in this world. To vanquish despair itself and leave only Justice. I wished to one day destroy the concept of evil itself leaving only the good behind. A dream like that... It was impossible though... So I settled... I settled for just saving every person I saw that was in front of me. Every person who suffered from despair... I would reach out and pull them from the abyss... And in the end I failed that to. At the end of my path I managed to only save a single child at the cost of my brother, my love, and my own sanity. And yet... I'm not sad I saved you... Row. This just means I'll have to give my dreams to you.'
"That's right..." Row said quietly. "A dream like that. My father really was a fool for thinking a world like that could ever exist..."
"Dad... Dad was a smart man..." Hero gritted a more, and more power came off of him. "His only mistake was giving his dream to you."
'Hero... Do you really think a world like that can exist...'
"Does it matter if I believe it or not?" Hero asked cocking his head to the side and giving a smile that was the opposite of his fathers. There was no pain behind it only joy and hope. "A dream that beautiful? Does it matter if it'll never come true? Isn't it just worth it for the thought of a world filled with peace? It might seem childish... But if I saw someone in front of who was in danger I would stop at nothing to save them... My name is 'Hero' for a reason... I'll earn my right to go by that name! I'll save her, and I stop you Row... This is my body... In fact I won't just save her..." A green tendril seeped out of Hero's green aura washing over the girl and spreading to every person in the road. Anyone who was still alive. "I'll save them all!"
Back in the void Row placed his hands in his pockets turning away and seeing all that he needed to. 'You really are a fool. You saved them at the cost of precious time... I'm growing stronger by the second now that you used this power. It's coming... They day I erase you...'
"Than... Come and get me. Because... I'll stop you Row... I'M Hero Law... I'm a God damn superhero..."
Over with the fight Kitsune felt himself be knocked back as he looked up. "Damn... I'm so beat up I can-" A green energy washed over him suddenly as the wounds on his body began to close shut. "What the hell?" He asked with wide eyes. "I feel fine now."
Meanwhile up above a small golden ball flew. Droney the drone...
It glowed for a moment as it took form. The drone seemed to click open showing a small white marble which washed over it and a young blonde haired girl, with bright yellow eyes, and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth stood grinning. "Oh sweet Hero..." Droney said shaking her head. She raised up a large gun pointing the barrel at Hero's head. "If you're using this power than I gotta kill you-"
"Hope wait!" The voice of Master Storm said coming out of the girls ear. "Don't fire... Watch him... He's still in control... That's Hero Law..."
"The boys using the crest? Cool..." She smirked.
"Yes... Cool..." Master Storm's voice said on the other end letting out a hum "Keep watching him for now Hope... Hero might have made a huge mistake... Last time I checked on him Row was years away from remerging... Now however he might have halfed the time to two years or less... Not to mention Row's going to start being able to take over the body soon... That poor boy doesn't know what he did..."
"Yeah, yeah." Droney said rolling her eyes. "I'll keep playing pretend for a little while longer..." She nodded. "Oh and I called the rest of his Squad."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Their busy though."
"I see..."
"You want me to take out the Bestia Macht while I'm here?" She asked raising the gun up once again.
"No... Let them do it... Keep watching... I want to see what new chess piece does..."
"Roger, that..." And with that her body glowed as she changed back into a small drone... Droney the drone... She flew down landing on Hero's head who didn't even take notice. Blood began to drip out of Hero's nose, eyes, and ears, as his heart beat faster and faster. Anyone who was injured began to groan and sit up and than screamed in terror when they saw the flaming fox samurai sword fighting with the demon from hell.
The girl let out a quiet groan of her own as she set up. Her eyes slowly opened as she looked up at Hero who smiled down at her even as the blood flowed out of him. Her side was healed showing no damage at all...
"Hi..." Hero smiled.
"Uh... Hi?" The girl asked quietly staring up at him. Her head was in his lap and her eyes were wide as she stared at him. Seconds later she let out a yelp when Hero fell forward landing on her. "Uh... Are you okay Mr. Enforcer?"
"I am not..." Hero groaned. "Imagine the worst pain ever..."
"Getting my side blasted off by a flaming claw..."
"Now double that..." Hero groaned. "I might be dying."
The girl looked around the streets with wide eyes watching everyone who got back up run away... There were still plenty of corpses but most of the people had been holding onto a sliver of life. A sliver, the strange Enforcer who was now using her stomach as a pillow, had used to pull them out of the darkness. She felt her side which ached slightly but for the most part was fine. "Y... You healed me..." She whispered. "You saved me-"
Her and Hero both let out quiet yelps when a blast of flames flew over them and they turned seeing a fully healed Kitsune fighting the Bestia Macht once more. The green aura still around the beast reminding Hero of what he needed to do.
"Listen..."
"R... Rose... My name is Rose..." The girl nodded.
"Right... Listen Rose..." Hero groaned out. "You're feeding that creature a power up... That aura around you both... You need to remove it... Please..." He gasped out.
"W... What?"
"Please." Hero asked again. "Your dad... He must be in so much pain like that... Forced to kill against his will... Please... Just... Let go... Let us save your dad... I'm begging you..."
"S... Save him..." Rose was silent as she stared down at his blood soaked face. None of Hero's wounds had healed so he still had several broken bones, and cuts, as well as damaged organ. Plus whatever he did messed with his head. He looked like he was near death himself. "You mean kill him... Right..."
"...I do..."
Small tears dripped down her face for a moment as she stared at Hero. "D... Do you believe in Heaven?" She asked in a shaking voice. "I never gave it a thought... But now... My mom... And my dad... Do you think they'll be able to see each other again?" She asked in a cracking voice. "Do you think one day I can see them again..."
Hero was silent as he stared at her. he slowly reached up managing to grab her hand. "I... I don't know if I fully believe in Heaven... But I do believe that we hold the memories of our loved ones in us. Not just those that have passed, but the ones still with us. Friends, brothers, sisters, parents, lovers, children, all of them. As humans we're responsible for keeping them alive in her hearts, and never letting them fade... And I believe that if there is some kind of God out there, if he even had a spark of kindness he'd allow us to see them again..." He said quietly his tone fading in and out as the pain washed over him.
The girl managed to give him a sad smile. "T... Thank you..."
"Hero... Hero Law..."
"Thank you... Hero Law..." She gave the smallest hint of a kind smile as she closed her eyes and the green aura around her, and her dad faded... "Please..." She whispered. "Please save my father from his suffering."
Over with Kitsune the Fox teen's eyes went wide when he watched as the green aura around the monster faded. The monster was breathing heavily wobbling slightly as it glared at Kitsune.
"...H... How..." It hissed.
"You're wondering how you're losing?" Kitsune asked giving it his best cool guy look as he walked towards it slowly. "It's simple. You see those with an Equation get stronger when they fight and the closer to death they had been at. Whatever that Devil Arm did brought me back from the brink of death so my power sky rocketed with it. Also I know how Ken works. She's a Seraphin. And she once said her regeneration can tire out. When that happens she dies. She has to wait till it comes back on and heals her body. So even with your crazy healing it was only a matter of time before your body gave out and the healing slowed down. It's over..."
The beast collapsed forward on its knees as it let out a pained sigh. The lightning on it began to flicker out as it bowed its head.
"Rest in piece..." Kitsune said quietly stabbing the blade through its back and out its heart. At the end of his blade a small white bug could be seen... "You've earned it." The creatures skin began to crack as it slowly broke down into nothingness... Kitsune slowly glanced down at his hands. "That wasn't easy..."
"Good..." A voice said making him turn. His eyes were wide when he saw a beat up Jackson and Dawson, as well as Ken, Irene, and Light. It had been Dawson who had spoken. He reached out placing a hand on Kitsune's head. "Killing another human... It should never get easy..." He said quietly. "Never..."